“We’re going back to the human realm. Vale, to his coffee shop, me to my tattoo parlor.” She leaned in and stage-whispered, “His mother wants a tulip on her back.”
The elf queen? With a tattoo? Trust Jess to start a trend.
“I intend to set Chynne free as soon as I can.” Too bad the magic hadn’t told Piers how. He raised a surprisingly human-realm-looking fork to his mouth to taste something fluffy, similar to mashed potatoes, only blue. “Mmm…” Maybe he’d been hasty in his plans to return to the human realm.
“And George?” Saris prodded.
“He’s going to help out at the consulate, registering those from our realm and looking in on them from time to time. Otherworld social services, if you will,” Piers got out between bites. “Since most of his people are currently in the human realm, he hopes to migrate them back home at some point.”
“Some of your moth… some of Nyanda’s followers escaped,” King Broen said, a note of caution in his voice. He popped a morsel of buttered bread into his mouth.
“We’ll be ready for them,” Wycke replied.
“All I ask is for you to let me know whenever you’re in the magical realm.” Broen raised a challenging eyebrow.
Wycke cocked his head. “Keeping track of me?”
“No. Your sister wouldn’t be forgiving if you didn’t at least dine with us.” King Broen turned his gaze on Piers. “And I have a brother to get to know.”
“Speaking of my sister…” Wycke gave a mock-stern glower.
Broen’s cheeks flushed. “I never intended to treat either of you as prisoners. I merely wished to keep you safe. I knew some wanted you for their own purposes.” His lovesick gaze at Saris made Piers want to leave and give them some privacy. “As for her wish to visit you, it is my hope that she’ll take me along. I’ve never seen the human realm.” King Broen sounded so wistful. So much responsibility being king. He likely had no more freedom than he’d allowed Wycke or Saris.
Maybe there was hope for the high king and queen consort.
As they stood to leave, Piers quietly looked out over the gardens. Oh, crap! Had anyone restored the man he’d turned to stone?
“I got your back,” pixie Chynne said. “Though I’d wait a while before trying to talk to him. You’re not his favorite person right now.”
Piers reckoned not.
Then there was Wycke. The recent situation hadn’t allowed much alone time and zero for intimacy. Maybe things would change once they got back to the human realm. After all, they’d flown there before.
Piers would take their relationship slow for now. Best to wait a while before explaining the whole magic champions thing to his accidental mate.
“Are you ready?” Piers certainly wasn’t. He’d practiced this spell many times under the watchful eye of Aberfrer but still didn’t feel right asking his friends to step through a shimmering area into the unknown. Kinda like he’d had two flight lessons, no pilot’s license, and someone asked him to fly the plane.
Through trial and error, they’d discovered the secret lay in his drawings. He merely drew an image of where he wanted to go to create a portal.
“Sure!” Jess bounced on the balls of her feet, holding Vale’s hand.
At least happy Jess wouldn’t cry on the bar at Piers’ work. He’d have to decide whether or not to quit his day—or rather, night—job. George said many otherworlders frequented the club, so working at least part-time might be an excellent way to make contacts.
Saris kissed Piers on each cheek, then clutched Wycke to her. “You take care of yourself. And each other.” Her eyes shimmered when she released him.
King Broen stepped in front of Piers, holding out his hand. “I believe this is the custom you’re used to.” He smiled. “Prince Pieravor. Or would you rather I called you Prince Piers?”
Piers shook Broen’s hand. It might take a while to adjust to having a king for a brother. “Piers. I’ve only known myself as Piers.” A brother. He had a brother. While he had magic, Kin… Broen had power of another kind.
The other goodbyes became droning background noise as Piers focused on his task with pen and paper. Then he made practiced motions with his hands while visualizing the image he’d drawn. North, South, East, West. Fire flicked along his traced patterns on the paper and winked out. A shimmery portal stood in their midst. Piers took a long look at those around him: Saris, Broen, Chynne, Vale, Jess, and Wycke. “Bye,” he said around a lump in his throat, stepping through. He held his breath. Traveling by a wish and a promise still gave him pause.
Every patron in the coffee shop stopped and stared. Oh, damn. He’d forgotten to time their arrival. Something pushed from behind. Then again. Finally, Vale whispered at his back, “If you want them to forget what they’ve seen, they will.”
Oh. A handy thing, magic. Piers focused on turning back the clock two minutes, mentally splicing a video to remove a scene. Everyone went about their business.
A barista called out, “Hey, boss! About time you showed up.”
Vale grinned and gave Jess a peck on the cheek. “See you tonight?”
